evening. you'll want to be here, as well, for the best seats in the house. i'm wolf blitzer, reporting from tampa. and i'm anderson cooper. next, cnn's early start. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the ghost of katrina. almost seven years to the day, a brand-new storm with the same path and the same timing barrels towards new orleans. if you're called upon to leave, you should leave. we will not say it lightly. we have seen the results of people thinking that they somehow are stronger than storms. >> hurricane fears haunting the gop convention in tampa, too. a shuffled schedule amid worries that this major storm strike on the gulf coast could overshadow mitt romney's big night.

good morning and welcome to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman live in tampa, florida, for this week's gop convention. i am sitting in the cnn grill, a special cnn location just a short walk away from where mitt romney is scheduled to accept his party's nomination on thursday night, but this schedule has been changing because of isaac. a lot going on down here, zoraida. >> all right, so, we're going to check in with you in a few minutes. i'm zoraida sambolin back here in new york. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east, so let's get started. up first, it appears tampa will escape the wrath of isaac, but the storm is still flexing its muscle as it moves through the gulf of mexico this morning. take a look at that. isaac expected to reach hurricane strength before striking the gulf coast this week. louisiana, mississippi and alabama are all under a state of emergency right now. the tropical storm battered the florida keys sunday with torrential rain and powerful winds on its way to becoming a

full-blown hurricane. warnings are now up from florida's panhandle all the way to new orleans and people there are bracing for possible impact on wednesday, seven years to the day that hurricane katrina devastated that city. cnn's rob marciano is live in new orleans with all of the details for us this morning. what is the very latest there? >> reporter: well, zoraida, they're prepping for the storm as you heard from the mayor earlier. they are asking for voluntary evacuations in the city, outside of the city in plaquemines and part of st. charles parishes. they're outside of the levee system, basically, there are mandatory evacuations, but until it's forecast to be a category 3, they won't pull the trigger on mandatory evacuations, we're told, and they have better plans in place than in 2005, for sure. let's run down the numbers as far as what is the latest on this storm, give you the 5:00 a.m. advisory from the national hurricane center, let you look at a satellite picture as well.

the thing hasn't blown up in intensity very much. it's gotten better organized, but still, 65-mile-an-hour winds is what they're clocking at right now, and it's about 400 miles southeast of the mouth of the mississippi and obviously heading into this direction, west-northwesterly, moving at 14 miles an hour. okay, let's get right to the track and give you the latest from the national hurricane center. a number of our models actually go west of new orleans. they've shifted the trk slightly over the last 12 hours, but basically, it's going to take -- the forecast is for it to take a straight line towards new orleans, but that margin of error goes all the way to study pascagoula or mobile bay, and certainly all the way to lake charles, louisiana, as well, the timing of which will be tuesday night into wednesday morning. one notable change in this advisory is the strength. because it hasn't really organized very quickly, right now we're anticipating, forecasting, and certainly hoping that the catego strength remains a category 1. we'll have to wait and see on that. there are your watches and warnings.

the watches have been extended off to the west. we are right now set up shop at the 17th street canal, one of two canals where the levees broke after hurricane katrina came through back in 2005. the army corps of engineers have done a lot of work since then. you remember the desperate effort of helicopters dropping sandbags, trying to plug the hole at the 17th street canal and also the industrial canal. both of these areas have been shored up with both flood walls and elaborate pumping systems, and they're confident that, certainly, a category 1 storm will be no problem, category 2 storm, it will be tested, and category 3 storm, well, that's when the question marks come in. but at this point, all is a go here in new orleans. zoraida, back to you. >> we're happy to hear that, but boy, on the seven-year anniversary, it could cause a lot of panic there. thank you, rob. >> and the track is eerily similar to katrina as well, although we don't anticipate the

same strength, but you're right, the timing and the track is definitely a little bit strange. >> all right. thank you very much, rob marciano. we'll check in with you later. with isaac now looming as a potential disaster for the gulf coast, people in the florida keys are breathing a bit of a sigh of relief there. isaac huffed and puffed, producing high winds, heavy rains, caused some flooding in the area, but it could have been a lot worse. cnn's jim spellman is live in key west, florida. so, they dodged the bullet there. >> reporter: yeah. good morning to you, zoraida, and it's a good morning here in key west because they really, even though we got lashed with high winds and heavy rains for most of yesterday afternoon, they escaped any serious damage. they really did take precautions. the first thing was to try to get as many people out of the city as they could and off of the keys. there's only a two-man road up into the mainlands of florida. that was successful, only about

20% okayccupancy in the hotels. the shutters businesses have here went up the day before yesterday and it was pretty much a ghost town in downtown. other businesses put up plywood like this, and in typical keys fashion, they had made a party out of it, "life in paradise" here. and even during the storm, people kept in good spirits, and as soon as the main body of the storm went out, people were in the bars partying in key west. that's what they do here. >> that's good to hear, jim, that everybody's also respecting mother nature. we'll also check with you throughout the morning. thank you very much. so, let's get back to john in tampa. how is the situation there? >> it was a rainy morning coming in here, zoraida. the rains falling, the winds blowing about 30 to 40 miles per hour, but not too, too bad. there has been lots of shuffling here at the republican national convention because of the storm, though, changing around the schedule. let's look at a live picture of the floor, just so you can see what it looks like inside the hall, where later today the convention will convene for a very short time, about ten minutes. they will open the convention,

but the big events start wrapping up tomorrow. that's when the party bestows the formal nomination for mitt romney and paul ryan, and the crescendo will build through thursday night when mitt romney delivers his big acceptance speech to a national audience in prime time. that's unless isaac intrudes somehow again. we have a special guest with us here this morning. it's chief white house correspondent, my friend jessica yellin. she is here in tampa to talk about what's going on. run down for me what the new schedule looks like. >> so, they've made a bunch of changes, as you know. they've collapsed the schedule from four days to three because of isaac. that's why i'm wearing my hunter boots. there are more important changes than that. so, ann romney is still speaking. she's speaking tomorrow night along with chris christi, new jersey governor, and bobby jindal. we just heard rob marciano talk about louisiana. well, the governor of louisiana is a huge republican star. he's slated to speak wednesday night, but he's declared a state of emergency, so we don't know if he's definitely going to show

up, for example. on thursday, that's when mitt romney is slated to accept the nomination, but we'll see marco rubio speak and now jeb bush has been moved to that night, but all of it's sort of a little up in the air, because if it really does slam into new orleans, there's an optics problem. you don't want to be celebrating here while something bad's happening. >> they probably have more decisions as the week goes on. what about donald trump? he was supposed to be here. >> i know, trump got canceled, but guess what, don't worry, he is speaking to the sarasota republican county party, and they issued a statement saying that trump is bigger than isaac. so, apparently, trump trumps the weather. >> a legend in his own mind, no doubt. now, of course, you cover the white house on a daily basis. you are our chief white house correspondent. as they are looking at this convention, there's a new abc news poll out showing mitt romney up by one point. what does the white house think about this convention? >> they believe the romney campaign and romney will get a bump, and that's what happens out of conventions. they're hopeful that because the

president's convention happens right after this, he'll get a bump too, but there's a special dynamic here. he introduced himself, introduced his family, more about his personal life, so that's something they're focusing on, and they've unveiled a web video attacking him, saying look, he's got a hollywood-style triage unit coming in to repackage and sell it. i think we have some of the b-roll we can play, if it's up there. but anyway, it's very funny and they're saying, basically, don't buy into the hype, don't buy into the story. do we have some of the sound? of romney as this new face you're going to see this week. they're calling it a convention reinvention. >> i imagine the convention reinvention is a term we will hear all week from the democrats. jessica yellin, thank you for joining us. we will talk to you throughout the course of the day and the week at the convention. we're very excited.

coming up, we will talk to tampa mayor bob buckhorn and talk about the rnc scheduling delay. of course, no activity today. we'll see what he thinks with the latest weather forecast here in tampa. and we're also talking about the eerie hurricane forecast for the gulf. isaac could make landfall near new orleans seven years to the day after hurricane katrina, and we want to talk about how this will impact the celebrations here in tampa, the gop rollout and mitt romney's big night, not to mention the people on the gulf coast. so, stay with us. we are live in tampa on "early start." ♪ [ male announcer ] its lightweight construction makes it nimble... ♪ its road gripping performance makes it a cadillac. introducing the all-new cadillac xts. available with advanced haldex all-wheel drive. [ engine revving ] it's bringing the future

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welcome back to "early start," everyone, live from the convention in tampa. it is now -- let me look at my watch -- about 14 minutes after the hour. i'm john berman. despite some nasty weather here this morning from tropical storm isaac, the republican national convention is set to kick off its first full day tomorrow, not today. mitt romney will be making his official debut this week as the party's presidential nominee. the candidate was at church in new hampshire yesterday with his wife, ann, who will join a long list of republican leaders taking the stage this week. i am joined right now by republican strategist and cnn contributor anna navarro. and anna, there is a fresh-new poll out from nbc news and "the washington post" showing mitt romney with a one-point lead heading into the convention. that's got to be a good place for the romney campaign to be before his official rollout here

in tampa. >> yeah, he's certainly made up ground, but it's going to be a neck-and-neck race. we are going to be fighting this out to the end. this is an important week for mitt romney. this is his coming out party. he needs to show himself. he needs to open himself up. he needs to make the sale with the american people and see if he can bump up those numbers. >> one of the issues he was talking about over the weekend may surprise people. he's been asked about health care and the women's vote right now. i want to play some sound where he touts what has become his controversial massachusetts health care plan. let's take a listen. >> with regards to women's health care, look, i'm the guy who was able to get all the health care for all the women and men in my state. there is talking about it at the federal level. we actual dlaey something and we did it without cutting medicare and without raising taxes. >> sort of interesting to hear him talk about the massachusetts health care plan in terms of women's issues or at all. >> look, i think he needs to do it. he is president with the

massachusetts plan, it is his baby and he needs to be proud of it. it's awkward when he's not talking about it, but it comes across as odd and uncomfortable. he needs to boast about it. it's an accomplishment. we no longer in the primary, we are in a general. he needs to win the independent votes. start talking about it, mitt, and talk about the good aspects of it, because it is your plan. >> there is a new cnn/orc poll out that gives us a sense of what voters overall think about mitt romney, and on some of the issues that matter, the econom he is enjoying a slight edge right now. look, 50-46 on the issue of who better can handle the economy. 52-42 on who can best handle the deficit. interesting, though, that on the issue of taxes, that barack obama has a four-point lead. >> that is very interesting. the economy was going to be the issue, but it's turned out to not be the only issue, but it's very important that romney has got that lead that he has currently and he needs to grow that. he needs to sell himself as what

he's been calling himself, the comeback artist. >> four points on the economy isn't a huge lead. >> no. it's almost within the margin of error. >> exactly, not with the message he's been trying to deliver. i was surprised. >> also not where we are in the economy. where we are in the economic discussion continues today, and with obama's record, you'd expect those numbers to be further apart. >> one of the things that may be keeping it close with these so-called personal trades. on our poll, we had some interesting numbers about judging the character of these two men. on the issue of who is in touch with women, a huge lead for barack obama, 60 to 31. on who cares most about people, 53 to 39. and this bottom one is where this election is being fought right now, in touch with the middle class, obama 53-39. what can mitt romney do this week to change these numbers? >> i think mitt romney needs to show who mitt romney is. i think mitt romney needs to get the american people to know him and trust him. to trust him, you first have to know him.

i think they still know, we know precious little about mitt romney. he's not a guy that's comfortable emowing, as we know now in 21st-century politics. he's got to start talking about himself. he has to give us a vision. he hasn't given us a vision. this speech, this convention is so very important because this is the shot. he needs to bat it out of the ballpark. no ifs, and or buts. >> ana navarro, we'll be talking with you throughout the morning. great to see you in tampa, your home state! >> let me tell you, 5:00 a.m. isn't easy for me, but i'm glad to be here. >> talk to you in a bit. zoraida, back to you in new york. >> thank you very much. tropical storm isaac threatens new orleans. it also continues to threaten the gop's convention schedule. it could also impact what you pay at the gas pump. christine romans with more on that, coming up. and check out the latest storm track on isaac. it is projected to be a category 1 hurricane when it makes landfall west of new orleans early wednesday morning. we are watching this. the very latest for you.

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we're talking about multilayers, aren't we? >> this is sort of the central nervous system of the american gulf oil production. and it's oil refined into gasoline, they used some of the refined products to make chemicals, so you have basically here the nerve center for gulf energy and energy products related production, and so you've got huge shutdowns happening right now. i mean, you've got people taken off of these rigs and platforms, you have nonessential, all nonessential personnel moved out of the region. a quarter of the oil production in the gulf of mexico has been suspended. it will probably be all of it in the next 24 to 48 hours. that's about 333,000 barrels a day. 39 platforms evacuated, 8 risk evacua rigs evacuated. you'll see the numbers why, and because we haven't seen a storm like this. eerily or creepy the similarities between this and hurricane katrina. you haven't seen as serious of a track for this area since gustav in 2008, i think. at that time, i was down there

and you had a complete shutdown of the mississippi river, the lower mississippi river. you had all of those refineries, chemical facilities, everything just had to stop. then all of the gasoline comes through there on all of these pipelines, so you will have a disruption to production in the united states and probably to gasoline supplies, and that's why we'll be closely watching what happens to gas prices. that's a story for maybe another couple of weeks down the road, because right now it's just making sure people don't get hurt. another interesting and sad layer to this is there was a deadly fire over the weekend in venezuela at the second largest refinery in the world. 41 people killed there. that refinery is shut down. it's a reminder, this is a very dangerous business, and when you have storms or you have fires in venezuela, all of those things are disruptions to a market where the world uses an awful lot of oil and disruptions certainly, certainly can cause prices to move. >> thank you so much for adding the insult to injury, right,

because that then has a trickle-down effect. we were talking earlier about gustav. >> right. >> in 2008, it was worse, but every year we kind of see this situation, as soon as it reaches the tropical watch. >> right, right. these companies, they say safety is a first priority. they don't want to lose their platforms, they don't want to lose their people, and they are -- this is a fire drill that happens every year during hurricane season, so they certainly know how to get people out and when they should get people out, and they work with an abundance of caution, so you will see a lot of people and facilities shutting down, people moving out of the region and oil production will, a quarter of oil production in the region is shut down right now. you're going to see that number get much bigger over the next few hours. >> all right, so you'll continue to track that for us and we will be talking money. >> yes. >> we're talking safety now and i think that's really important. >> absolutely. >> thank you very much. it is 25 minutes past the hour. it's hard to believe, but tropical storm isaac could take nearly the same path that hurricane katrina did seven years ago, folks, actually to the day. more on the storm's projected

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seven years later, a fateful feeling of deja vu as tropical storm isaac heads for new orleans. >> the timing of this storm coming, as fate would have it, the anniversary of katrina, has everybody in a state and sense

of alertness, and that is a good thing. tough call here in tampa with the republicans wrestling with this scenario -- what happens if a major hurricane hits new orleans before mitt romney's big convention speech on thursday? good morning and welcome to "early start," everyone. it's about half past the hour right now. i'm john berman. we are live in the cnn grill, just a short walk away from the floor of this republican convention, which has been delayed by a day because of isaac, which is lashing out in the gulf right now. zoraida? >> all right, we're going to continue to check in with you, but first of all, we're going to talk about isaac. republicans in tampa are dodging a bullet. that is where john berman is. as the track of tropical storm isaac moves away now from the convention city. that storm, though, continues to strengthen. landfall is expected along the gulf coast tomorrow or perhaps on wednesday. forecasters say isaac will be a hurricane by then, possibly

hitting new orleans seven years to the day that katrina nearly destroyed that city. there is a mandatory evacuation order in effect for about 60,000 people along the louisiana coast this morning, including all of st. charles parish. cnn's rob marciano is live in new orleans. and rob, when we were talking earlier, you were mentioning how eerily similar that path is as it hits katrina last time. could you talk to us a little bit more about that? >> reporter: yeah, especially yesterday afternoon when we were looking at the latest track. all of us were kind of had a flashback to katrina, when it made its first landfall across southern florida and then kind of dove south of the keys and then blew up into that category 5, at one point a hurricane. thankfully, this isn't the strength of isaac, it's not even a hurricane yet officially, but certainly, the track of it heading towards new orleans. and yesterday at this time, it was actually just supposed to go to the east of new orleans, towards biloxi, and that was the

exact same track that katrina took. now, the fortunate part is we're not a hurricane yet. we'll probably be one. likely won't be a category 3 at landfall like katrina was, but the forecast track is centered a little bit more towards new orleans. let's break down the satellite. we'll give you the latest, the 5:00 a.m. advisory has just come out. as i mentioned, it's not a hurricane yet, 65-mile-per-hour winds, but it's moving to the west-northwest towards the mouth of the mississippi. it's about 400 miles away from that point right now and a lot of warm water in between here and there, so we do think it will strengthen. how much is still a question. here's the forecast without the katrina comparison to give you an idea of where we expect this thing to go, and that cone of uncertainty -- there is still a lot of uncertainty with the forecast. from mobile bay to lake charles, louisiana, people need to be aguard with this thing as it makes its approach tomorrow night into wednesday morning. we are live camped out at the 17th street canal near lake pontchartrain. this is one of the weak spots

during hurricane katrina where the levee broke and started filling new orleans one water. the other weak spot, the industrial canal, which hit the lower ninth ward, and you remember the dramatic video of choppers scrambling to dump sandbags in to plug the holes in the levees. well, the army corps of engineers has done a whole lot of work since then in a very short period of time. we've got some pictures of some of their work as well, as they strung over 100 miles of levees and storm walls up around the city and beefed up canals and elaborate pumping stations, one of which is behind me, that they claim can withstand a category 3 storm. they said that before katrina as well, but this certainly is a much more modern and much stronger structure than we've seen. so, because of that, the mayor has not issued a mandatory evacuation for new orleans yet. if it becomes a forecast that would make a category 3 possible or likely, i think they may trigger that, but right now,

voluntary evacuations inside the levees, outside in st. charles and plaquemines parish there are some mandatory evacuations there in lower terrain. obviously, new orleans still susceptible to this. gustav, zoraida, a hurricane back -- >> 2008. >> reporter: 2008? yeah. >> yeah, it was 2008. >> reporter: 2008. this may very well take more of a pth like gustav, which did some damage here in new orleans as well. so, watching both of those comparisons very strongly as well. oil platforms, you know all about that. >> yeah. >> reporter: they've been evacuated, some of those. that trend will probably continue throughout the day today as we wait on isaac for tomorrow night into wednesday. >> you know, that's exactly what we were talking about, it's safety first. you know, in 2008 with gustav, everybody was evacuated, this time as well. let's not forget, 1,800 people died during hurricane katrina, so hopefully, everybody's heeding the warning. we'll talk about that a little later, what you've seen, if everybody's really listening to stay away, get away and be safe.

thank you, rob. shaken but barely stirred. people in the florida keys were bracing for the impact of tropical storm isaac. they did get heavy rain and a lot of wind in that area, but it turns out, isaac was just warming up at that point. cnn's jim spellman live in key west, florida, with the calm after the storm. what's the situation there, jim? >> reporter: yeah, officials went out and assessed what happened after several hours of high winds and heavy rain. they found no serious damage here in the keys. that's good news. they have a real system down here. they're used to it. first, you try to get as many visitors off the keys as you can. there is just one two-lane road and a 120-mile strip back to the mainland of florida. they want that to happen before the storm. for those who stayed behind, they have premade storm shutters that go on to the buildings, put up wood on other buildings. they're just about back to life in paradise here in key west. they were partying as soon as the rain stopped yesterday, zoraida. >> all right, jim spellman live for us, thank you very much. we're going to head back to

the republican national convention. john berman is hanging out there for us this morning. how's the weather situation there? you went in pretty early this morning. >> it was rainy and windy but not that bad, zoraida. some exits off some roads were closed down, but by and large, you can get around here in tampa this morning. however, the storm is forcing republicans to do a lot of shuffling and make some changes to the schedule, which could change even more, depending on where isaac decides to go and how strongly it hits. so, who is in and who's out? here's a quick rundown of the changes. the convention will formally convene today at 2:00 p.m. eastern but will only remain in session for about ten minutes because officials are concerned for the safety of delegates an other visitors. then, tomorrow night, new jersey governor chris christi, he will be giving the keynote address at the convention. that is tuesday night, prime time, depending on the path of isaac. on wednesday night, we expect to hear from paul ryan, the vice presidential pick for the republican party. and then on thursday, that, of course, when mitt romney will give his formal acceptance

speech, and he will officially, after all this time, become the republican nominee. now, we have a new cnn/orc poll which talks about where things stand right now in this race. that poll says that while mitt romney may be a better manager, president obama might be more in touch. according to the poll, 53% of likely voters say the president cares about the needs of people with 40% feeling the same way about mitt romney. the president also leads romney when it comes to being in touch with the middle class and on women's issues. romney has a four-point advantage over president obama on managing the government effectively and a six-point advantage on having a clear plan for solving the country's problems. coming up in an hour, we are going to have a conversation about all of the security here in tampa, the secret service, the police on the ground, the demonstrations and how the weather might be affecting that. i'm going to talk to dan bongino. he is a former secret service agent. he served in three presidential

administrations. he is also the republican caidate for senate in the state of maryland, so he knows a lot about what's going on now in terms of security and in terms of politics. that should be a very interesting discussion. let's get back to zoraida in new york. >> john, i have a question for you. do you sense that there are any regrets about changing the first day of the convention? have you heard anything about that? or do they just feel that was the right decision, given what was headed that way, potentially? >> i think they had to make that decision, given when they made it. the storm looked like it might come close to tampa. they have a problem here with storm surge, there could be flooding and wind. and so many of the delegates are staying in areas that are not exactly right here next to the convention center. they have to drive over causeways and the like and they didn't want the buses on the way here battered by wind, so it was a decision they had to make. i'll talk with tampa mayor bob buckhorn next hour, too, and we can ask him that. >> what's happening today, then in lieu of the fact that they canceled what was supposed to be happening? >> i don't know! i'm going to go look for delegates at the bars. no, i'll tell you what won't be happening, donald trump was

going to make a big splash at the con vernsion but he was scheduled for tonight, monday night. now he won't be here. so, the donald's been canceled. he did attend an event yesterday in sarasota. he was named the statesman of the year in sarasota, florida. so you know, the donald got a little love, but not so much love tonight at the republican convention. >> all right, so we'll check back with you shortly. thank you for that update. it is 39 minutes past the hour here. an earthquake storm. hundreds of quakes, one after another rattling the west coast and shaking a lot of nerves. a look at the aftermath and a video as buildings shook. that is coming up next. the 2-in-1 swiffer sweeper, a great clean doesn't have to take long. i'm done. are you thinking what i'm thinking? ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ okay. all right. oh! [ female announcer ] the 2-in-1 swiffer sweeper uses electrostatic dry cloths to clean better than a broom. and its wet mopping cloths can clean better than a mop in half the time so you don't miss a thing. mom, have you seen my -- hey! hey!

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one of my favorite cities in the world. good morning, miami! it is 83 degrees right now. a little bit later, we're going to continue with your storming weather and it's going to be 85 muggy degrees for you. welcome back to "early start," 43 minutes past the hour. we're very happy you're with us this morning. john berman is live in tampa with the republican national convention. we'll check with him in a moment, but first, our top stories with christine romans. let's begin with tropical storm isaac, still just a tropical storm, but everyone's concerned with what sort of hurricane it will be, well on its way to becoming a category 2 hurricane and on path to strike the gulf coast. forecasters say new orleans is in the danger zone and isaac could hit there on wednesday, seven years to the day when

hurricane katrina hit. gop officials now trying to cram four days into three. with hurricane isaac pretty much shutting down today's events at the republican national convention, the convention will gavel in at 2:00 p.m. but only stay in session for ten minutes. donald trump would stump from his spot today. governor romney is still scheduled to accept the nomination on thursday. another deadly insider shooting in afghanistan to tell you about this morning. an afghan army soldier opened fire on nato troops in eastern afghanistan, killing two. coalition forces returned fire, killing that soldier. officials have not yet released the dead soldiers' nationalities. it's the latest in a series of green-on-blue attacks against nato-led troops. officials say at least 42 have been killed by afghan forces or insurgents disguised as soldiers or police. the american academy of pediatrics is changing its decision on infant male circumcision. it now says the health benefits outweigh the risks.

the group cites new research which found the procedure may protect heterosexual males against hiv but they stopped short of recommending circumcision for all baby boys, saying this decision is a family matter. a swarm of hundreds of quakes near the california/mexico border, the strongest a 5.5-magnitude. the storm centered near brawley, 100 miles east of san diego. a seismologist said by last night, they recorded 300 quakes. more than 30 had a magnitude stronger than 3.5, the biggest a little larger than they've seen in the past. one family in brawley got several jolts on camera. >> oh, my god! >> the house is coming down! >> you see the kid has a sense of humor. this is the most seismic activity in the area since the

1970s. no injuries and only minor damage recorded. and a thrashing little league series world final, japan over tennessee to claim its eighth title with a 12-2 win. mercy ruled in the fifth inning after japan took a 10-run lead. 12-year-old noriatsu osaka had three home runs and a triple. bravo, japan. >> it's great to watch them play so hard. >> i love it. >> thank you very much. so, isaac's first target in the united states, you know, the florida keys. the storm surge threatens the rest of the gulf coast there as well. we're going to get an update on emergency preparations in that state, coming up. and if you are leaving home right now, you can watch us any time on your desk top or mobile phone. just go to cnn.com/tv. capella university understands rough economic times have led to an increase in clinical depression. drug and alcohol abuse is up.

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welcome back to "early start." we are tracking tropical storm isaac this morning, and here's the latest projected storm path. isaac expected to make landfall wednesday morning, possibly as a category 2 storm. meteorologist bonnie schneider joins us now with the very latest. and bonnie, we're a little bit confused here, because we're trying to figure out -- this is a tropical storm storm right now. we know we're not a hurricane. what is the expectation that it will become a hurricane? >> a very strong expectation, zoraida. the national hurricane center is forecasting this storm to become a hurricane, and that's because it's moving over warmer waters of the gulf of mexico. keep in mind, we're already getting hurricane-force winds in terms of gusts. they're at 75 miles per hour. so, as you can see by our track, even by tomorrow we're looking at a category 1 storm, maintaining that strength and maybe getting a hair or two stronger as we advance towards an eventual landfall along the gulf coast some time on tuesday afternoon. the cone of uncertainty is very wide as we go into tuesday

because the computer models have been fluctuating quite a bit. yesterday they trended to the west, and now we see the storm will eventually come onshore, and that's why hurricane watches and warnings are posted for the gulf coast. we're also anticipating the storm to be a rain-maker for a good portion of the southeast. hurricane warnings for morgan city all the way to destin, florida, meaning hurricane force conditions are expected within 24 hours. zoraida, it's so important for people to make those preparations now before the weather gets worse. >> no, absolutely. and a lot of those folks in that area have a lot of experience with storms, so we're hoping they heed the warning. i was reading here possibly as a category 2 storm by wednesday morning. is that because of what you're seeing on the models as well? >> it depends on how long the storm sits in the gulf of mexico and how far west it goes. if it has a longer trip to go, it will be over those open waters longer and that will give it more a chance to intensify, but keep in mind, if this storm is a strong category 1, right on the border of a category 2, it is still going to pose a threat to this region, so it's not so

much on the category number, it's more the winds and also the size of the storm. this is a very large tropical storm. >> all right, bonnie schneider, thank you for clearing that up for us. we appreciate it. well, that storm has already hit the florida keys. the area faced power outages and strong winds, but the storm was kinder than many expected in that area. the florida panhandle could be next, and brian kuhn is the director of florida emergency management and he is joining us on the phone now. are you there? >> i am. good morning. >> good morning. thank you for taking the time to speak with us this morning. we really appreciate it. what is the priority for you this morning? >> well, two-fold. one, we will be checking the florida southern counties to find out the damage assessment they may have sufred yesterday, and now at first light, our initial damage assessment from them yesterday evening was good, minimal damage in that things were getting back to normal as the storm passed. we'll also be focused on the florida panhandle today, keeping

a close eye on that because as bonnie said, the storm's path is still uncertain and we want to make sure that the western panhandle is prepared for heavy winds, heavy rain and potential storm surge. >> and how concerned are you about the panhandle and that possible category 2 hit on wednesday? >> well, we're very concerned. the amount of rain that that storm could drop as well as those heavy winds could cause significant damage in that area. and even if the storm keeps the path that it's forecast on right now, escambia county as well as pensacola could have tropical storm-force winds for 24 hours and if we have rains that heavy for that long, you could have some fairly heavy damage as well as power outages. >> i've gone on a lot of the government websites in the area, and you're doing a great job warning people about the intensity, and perhaps what could happen. do you feel folks are heeding the warnings? >> i believe so. our reports from our retail partners are that people are out buying the supplies they need to get their disaster kits ready

and that they are definitely taking this thing seriously. the other thing that's been helpful is having the republican national convention coverage in florida, being the media attention paid to the storm has been greater than normal. so, most everybody in florida is well aware of isaac's presence. >> well, there's some good news for you. tampa escaped the worst as well, but as you well know, the rnc changed its plans. were you instrumental in helping them make that decision? >> the governor and i worked very closely with the republican national convention committee on arrangements to help them understand each forecast as it came out and the potential consequences to the hillsboro and pinellas area. that was their decision to make, but we helped them understand the fact that high winds could cause some bridge closures, make travel by bus difficult, and generally, we could have some road flooding and things like that. so, while they did make that decision, we made sure they had the most accurate, up-to-date information about the possible consequenc consequences. >> mr. koon, i have one final question for you, in case anybody in florida is listening. i was reading the pharmacy,

they're not giving people emergency stocks of medicine. do you know anything about that? >> we did get that report the other night. and right after we had that report, we started working with our partners in the department of health as well as the florida retail federation to help them understand what the state of emergency allowed and made sure all of our retail partners and pharmacy partners had the most up take date information about that state of emergency so we could correct that situation. >> all right, bryan koon, director of florida emergency management, thank you for joining us this morning and good luck to you. all right, let's head over to john berman. he is live in tampa for us. good morning. >> hey, zoraida. i'm here at the cnn grill, which is just a short walk away from the floor of the republican convention, and i'll give you a quick little weather update here in tampa. people are walking into the grill here completely soaked. they say it is getting really messy outside and there's some water in the streets now. i don't think it will get too, too bad, but it is extremely unpleasant to be moving around tampa right now. so, probably a good idea that

they did call off the festivities today. now, you want to know what else it's like to experience a republican national convention from the inside, besides wet, which it is right now? join the "cnn election roundtable" with wolf blitzer and cnn's all-star political team tomorrow. submit your questions to get answers in realtime in a live, virtual chat. this is going to be very cool. that's the "cnn election roundtable" tomorrow at 12:00 noon eastern. you can be a part of it by logging on to cnn.com/roundtable, something you'll all want to do. you can always twee tweet @earlystartcnn and we'll answer your questions, too. zoraida? >> it is like being there. thank you, john. the day's top stories coming up at the top of the hour. we're keeping a very close eye on tropical storm isaac, taking an eerie track that's a lot like hurricane katrina seven years ago this exact same week. you are watching "early start." like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec®

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the ghost of katrina, almost seven years ago to the day, a brand-new storm with the same path and the same timing, barrels towards new orleans. >> let's hope and pray for the best, even as we prepare for the worst. >> hurrica fears of a different kind haunting the gop convention in tampa. a major storm strike on the gulf coast could make celebrating mitt romney's nomination a bit awkward to say the least. good morning, i'm john berman live in tampa, florida, which is the site of the republican national convention. i am sitting here in the cnn grill, a short walk away from

the main stage on the floor of the convention. this grill here is where so much will be happening this week for cnn. it's really one of the coolest locations here. we'll bring you live updates all week from here. i'll have more from the grill in just a few minutes. >> it is a cool location. we're glad to have you there. i'm zoraida sambolin. up first here, tropical storm isaac, on the move and getting stronger. forecasters expect isaac to reach hurricane strength sometime today and make landfall tomorrow night or wednesday along the gulf coast. thousands of people in alabama, mississippi and louisiana are being told to leave their homes. no mandatory evacuation order at this point for new orleans, which is in the danger zone. wednesday marks seven years since hurricane katrina and forecasters say isaac is following a very similar path. cnn's rob marciano is live in new orleans. it's following a similar path. is it as strong?

>> reporter: definitely not. that's going to be our saving ace, i think, zoraida at this time, at this position, katrina was well on its way to becoming a major hurricane and at one point category 5. isaac hasn't reached hurricane status yet. when the 5:00 p.m. advisory came out, the forecast track, tracking just to the east of new orleans, was early similar to katrina. the timing of this is exactly the same as far as making a landfall early wednesday morning seven years ago. that's when katrina came through. there you see the actual track of katrina and the small dots there and then the current position of isaac and it's projected path. which today is becoming a little bit more gus taf like. that may be a storm we compare it to as well. 65-mile-per-hour winds with this

storm. it is 400 miles southeast of the mouth of the mississippi river and barreling that way but i'll tell you what, hurricane hunter aircrafts are in there now there's no indication that they are going to upgrade this any time too soon. we'll keep hoping for a very slow strengthening if at all. we've been talking track. anybody from mobile bay to lake charles louisiana has to be wary of this storm. the strength of it, we don't know how strong it's going to get. at one point it was for a category 2 storm to come through. now it's been downgraded to a category 1 storm. there's no mandatory evacuations for new orleans proper, st. charles and part of plaquemines parish, even a strong tropical storm or weak hurricane would affect those people. the army corps of engineers has done a ton of work since the cat

t catastrophe of katrina. some video from when katrina hit and the aftermath, the dramatic stuff of levees being broken along the industrial canal as well. choppers had to come out -- you remember this, it was horrible, frantic trying to plug the holes there. they've spent billions of dollars to beef up the levee system and pumping stations. we're standing just outside one of those pumping stations that's designed to extricate the water. it is able to withstand a hurricane 3 storm, let's hope it won't be. >> rob, i was reading earlier, that the mayor there, mitch landrieu said i sense a high level of anxiety.

do you feel that? >> reporter: yes. without a doubt. even though it's not forecast to become a major hurricane like katrina, when you do talk to people on the ground here, memories are still fresh and when you talk about the timing and the projected path, goodness, i don't even live here and i'm getting chills thinking about it. there is some level of anxiety and they'll take the storm seriously if they have to. >> he said hopefully it will raise the level of alertness and people will heed warnings. we'll check in with you again. it is a calm after the storm in south florida. tropical storm isaac left its calling card in the florida keys, a lot of flooding but the area was largely spared by isaac. jim spellman live in key west showing us around. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, zorai zoraida, they did an initial assessment late yesterday

afternoon and found no significant damage. they did at a it seriously, they tried to get as many visitors off the keys as they could. they added extra flights and wanted everybody to drive up to florida to do the day before yesterday so when the storm came those roads were open for any last-minute ee vak kau ees and emergency vehicles to get around. the locals, the people who live here and run businesses have been through this drill many times. they are pretty prepared. they have a lot of things like these premeasured pre-made storm shutters that they are able to put up. everybody sort of bunkered down during the storm and emerging after it left. very glad they didn't have the heavy damage they were concerned about if it picked up more strength and hit directly on key west. that was really part of the track for much of yesterday. big sighs of relief when that didn't come to pass. >> we're quite happy for them. jim spellman, thank you very much. we are back here in tampa

where the wind and rain from isaac started hitting last night. people have been walking into the cnn grill a little bit damp and wind worn but not so bad just yet. we want to hear more about the preparations. we have with us mayor bob buckhorn, the mayor of tampa. he's been talking to us last week and this week. how do things stand? >> things are looking good. it's a fast moving storm. we don't anticipate any storm surge. there will be flooding in low lying areas but it will be a squirrely day. >> it's nasty, not the kind of day to walk in the streets. you've closed schools and theme parks are shut down. >> it is, but we live with this. we're ready for it. >> any regrets calling it off for tonight? >> no, absolutely not. i think they did the best thing. it is risky coming across those bridges if you have sustained 40-mile-per-hour winds.

i think they made the right decision. delegates will stay indoors and hopefully spend a lot of money and be back at it tomorrow. >> this isn't your decision, the republicans' decision but they face a tough one in the next few days, say the storm gets stronger, strong category 1 other 2 heading for new orleans. what kind of dilemma does that represent to the republicans when that storm is hitting? >> it is a challenge. they've got to get a nominee out of the process. out of this event in tampa has to come a nominee. at the same time they have a moral dilemma, if there's loss of life or property of new orleans, what is it they do? chairman priebus, i don't envy him, it would be a tough decision. but i know they'll have to move forward to get governor romney nominated so this process can begin. i would not want to be in the chairman's shoes this week. >> i should tell everyone, they are nonpartisan elections here but you are a democrat. >> i am. >> you'll be attend being the

democratic national convention next week in charlotte. >> i will. for the purposes of this, i'm ago nos tick. >> and you want people to spend money? >> i do. i want to be their favorite mayor. this is not a partisan event. it's an economic development opportunity and we've treated it as that. >> i hope you have your umbrella. >> i do. >> thank you again for everything you've done the past week. tropical storm isaac is on an eerie track. what will the political implications be? stay with us. you're watching "early start." live from tampa. [ female announcer ] the coffee house.

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welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. live at the cnn grill in tampa for this week's republican national convention. >> we're going to check in with you shortly. it is 12 minutes past the hour. first off, we're tracking the path of tropical storm isaac. the storm is strengthening as it moves through the gulf of mexico packing sustained winds of 65 miles per hour per hour. possibly even a category 2. wednesday marks seven years since hurricane katrina and isaac is following avery similar track. we'll head back to john berman live in tampa where isaac has affected the rnc. >> they've canceled the events that were scheduled for tonight of the all they'll do is gavel in and gavel out. it is rather nasty here, it's wet and windy, still later this week mitt romney will make his

nomination official. he will give his acceptance speech wednesday night. things are complicated right now. what if this storm strengthens and continues to head towards new orleans there? what if it makes a direct hit? what are the challenges in terms of so-called optics. i have two political experts here to talk with me about the challenges facing the republican party. jessica yellin is here and new friend of mine, anna navarro, rerom florida. this is your home ste. let me ask both of you. anna, let's talk about the optics here. they do face a tough decision if the storm is due to make a direct hit on new orleans, do they want to be speaking from the convention floor at the same time? >> it's a very tough thing. as we know in florida and learned from katrina, hurricane politics are very treacherous. they can make or break political careers and be a legacy to leave

a good one or a bad one depending on response. and i think it is very important that we are very sensitive to what people are going to be facing. somewhere in america there are people that will have very difficult circumstances because of the hurricane. i think as republicans we need to tamp down the parties and convention. we need to be sensitive and need to have the people in new orleans or gulf coast being affected first and foremost in our prayers and in our minds. >> this does come at a cost. this convention not at all insignificant for mitt romney, this is the big rollout, introduction as a person, jessica. >> and that's something they won't lose an opportunity to hit hard on, the republican organizers, every time opportunity -- every opportunity they get. first his wife ann romney and even some of his endorsers from the mormon church for the first time will reveal a little more about romney's background. as gloria borger has shown in the documentary, you learn a lot more about him when you know his

involvement and charitable activity and that's a kind of personal side they want people to see and that the obama campaign is calling the reinvention of romney, an effort to improve his likability. >> we have fresh poll numbers on the issue of the economy, which so many people is the number one issue in this election right now. mitt romney does enjoy an advantage over president obama on handling the economy. 50-46 right now. on the deficit of larger margin, 52-42. on taxes, barack obama has a four-point lead. why do you think that is? >> i think the tax issue that romney has faced and the tax question for not releasing the taxes, he's gotten pummeled by the democrats, there's been all sorts of ads and attacks and wouldn't be surprised people are putting together the entire tax conversation surrounding mitt

romney's taxes with the tax question. >> is the white house pleased with how this has gone? >> yes, and not just mitt romney's taxes. most americans polling shows the taxation on upper income's of americans. and also despite the fact romney has had the advantage on the economy all along, the polling overall is fairly stable between the two. >> anna, i want to give you one last chance to vent. the former republican governor charlie crist will be speaking. >> i think they are hitting the bottom of the barrel. i think charlie crist will do what mitt romney had a hard time doing which is rev us up and get us going to help mitt romney win florida.

he is a radioactive figure in florida and nationally and people will be quite enthusiastic about the idea. even now more appealing it is to beat charlie crist than it is to beat barack obama. >> tell us how you really feel. coming up, we'll take a closer look at the security at the republican national convention. there's a lot of it. i'll talk to dan bongino, also a republican candidate for senate in the state of maryland. a lot to discuss with him. >> we are looking forward to that. thank you, john. frorm isaac threatens new orleans and threatens the gop convention schedule as well and could impact what you pay at the gas pumps. christine romans with more on that. for an expanded look at our top stories, head to our blog cnn.com/earlystart. r ] it's a golden opportunity... to experience the largest,

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welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman live at the cnn grill in tampa, florida, the site of the republican national convention. >> we miss you here in new york, john, but we're happy you're there for us. we'll check in with you in a moment. oil and gas production already being suspended at some facilities in the gulf of mexico because of approaching storm. christine romans has new details this morning. >> the energy industry has been here before. they see a storm track like that and they look at the heartland of gulf oil production and they start to close down production. so a quarter of oil production

suspended. that comes down to 333,000 barrels a day. 39 platforms and 8 rigs evacuated. we told you it is the nerve center of american energy production. take a look at the active platforms, these are platforms, manned platforms in the gulf of mexico. there's some 600 manned platforms and many more -- quarter of knows have been suspended. i'll add the refiners and places we store oil and gas and chemical facilities. that's a bigger footprint. now i'll layer on all of the pipelines so you can see why i say this is a nerve center. along that area are emergency supplies, our strategic petroleum reserve. those are in salt caverns and big exterior huge stored facility along the path as well. when you look at the storm track like isaac's that's why you see so many people concerned about what it will mean for oil and

gas. we'll watch oil prices and the first and foremost is the safety of the people that work in the industry. after that you wonder if you there will be any kind of gasoline supply disruptions because of this. also, over the weekend, a huge refinery fire in venezuela, 41 people killed at a refinery fire. that's another added complications to energy supplies in the united states. >> that's awful they had that kind of loss. back here we see this every year when storm season happens. there's a pattern of closing down and gas prices going up. >> some years any hope they don't need this much of a production shutdown. i would say this most closely looks like gustaf from four years ago. energy industry watching closely to see if this is what it's going to look like. they tend to get out quickly and get back on and start drilling

quickly after the storm. there's the track right now. >> a well oiled machine, that's the first thing they evacuated. safety first. we know you're following the money so you'll come back with that. >> 24 minutes past the hour. following the footsteps of hurricane katrina, isaac getting stronger and on course to slam the gulf coast. the latest on the path and how close it could get to new orleans, our ireporters watching the storm as well. this from brian bayney, showing palm trees bending. this is miami beach. you're watching "early start." ? check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic.

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people thinking they somehow are stronger than storms. >> it could be a tough call in tampa with the republicans wrestling with this scenario, what happens if a major hurricane hits new orleans just before mitt romney's big convention speech this week? welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman live in tampa for this week's republican national convention. you're looking at the cnn grill here. a key location for cnn covering this huge week for mitt romney. i'll have more from here in a few minutes. >> we're looking forward to it. it is 29 minutes past the hour. first off, tropical storm isaac. moving across the gulf of mexico this morning as it builds towards hurricane strength. forecasters expect it to slam ashore along the gulf coast late tomorrow or even wednesday. possibly as a category 2 hurricane. new orleans is bracing for the impact. perhaps on wednesday which would be seven years to the day that hurricane katrina devastated that city.

cnn's rob marciano is tracking all of this for us. he is live in new orleans. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, there's no mandatory evacuations here yet because it's only forecast to be a category 1 or 2 storm at this point. those plans are in place. the protocols are much more elaborate and concrete than seven years ago. the elderly, there's 17 zones where they go pick them up and bring them to a bus terminalnd get them out of harm's way. and things like that. so what we're looking at is a storm that we've been talking about eerily similar to katrina, as far as the track. the strength, nothing like it. we're not even a hurricane as far as isaac is concerned. 65-mile-per-hour winds. heading to the west-northwest at 14 miles per hour towards new orleans. it's about 400 miles from the mouth of the mississippi, a little farther than that to new orleans. but heading this week.

here's the latest forecast track from the national hurricane center. they've been saying time and time again when they put these out with this storm uncertainty, especially in the later goings, extremely high. unusually high. they continue to say that. anybody from really mobile bay all the way to lake charles, louisiana, beamono, texas, all bets are off as far as how hot the water is underneath the storm. it could explode in a beast with very little timing. we are live outside the 17th street canal. one of the two large canals that had a breach in the levee systems that flooded the city seven years ago while the army corps of engineers has certainly beefed this up, not only flood walls and storm levees but

elaborate pumping mechanisms that gets the water from the city out back into lake pontchartrain. we hope to not have scenes like this seven years ago where levees being breached had to be plugged frantically by helicopters dropping sand bags. billions of dollars spent to beef it up. unless it gets to a category 2 or 3 forecast, there won't be a mandatory evacuations here. but people are taking it seriously, zoraida. lines at the gas stations last night, already many gas stations are without fuel for people who are gassed up and ready to go. >> they are taking this seriously. i know there's no mandatory evacuation but there's a state of emergency in alabama and louisiana and mississippi. so folks are taking heed. we'll check back in with you. so they hunkered down in the florida keys expecting the worst from tropical storm isaac. but when all was said and done, they were spared any significant damage. cnn's jim spellman is live in

key west, florida for us this morning. you switched locations there, i see. >> reporter: this is the main drag in key west. yesterday afternoon when the rain started it whipped from this way from the south part of the island straight down here. they were really concerned with inland flooding xgt. they didn't see that here. they did an assessment late afternoon and they didn't find significant damage. the director of the emergency management tells us they'll do a more thorough investigation when the sun comes up today to see if they have other issues elsewhere in the state. listen. >> going to be with the southern florida counties to find out any damage assessment they may have suffered yesterday andow that we're at first light our initial damage assessment from yesterday evening was good. minimal damage in that things were getting back to normal as the storm passed. >> reporter: they took it

seriously here getting prepared. they put up storm shutters and evacuated as many people as they could and encouraged everybody to stay inside. they've done this a lot in the keys and they take it seriously, they feel that the preparations pay off. got a little lucky this time as well. >> really good follow through for them there. jim spellman, thank you. here in tampa, thousands of delegates and politicians and protesters throw in a tropical storm, what do you get? a security complicated mess at every level, changing every second. what's it like to run something like this? we're going to talk to a former secret service agent about all of these complicating factors from mitt romney on down next. you're watching a special "early start" live from the republican national convention in tampa. at usaa, we believe honor is not

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good morning, miami, it is 83 degrees, later 85 and stormy. looks a bit windy as well. hopefully you'll have better weather than yesterday. we saw palm trees bending earlier. welcome back to "early start." we're happy you're with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman live at the cnn grill on the site of the republican national convention. it is raining and windy. you put that on top of layers of security and it is not an easy place to get around this week. an estimated 50,000 visitors descending on tampa for this convention which starts in full tomorrow. you add the pressure of strorm isaac and protesters around the country and national guard and

dozens of state and local agencies have their work cut out for them. one guy who knows a lot about this is done bongino, a former secret service agent and happens to be a republican candidate for senate for the state of maryland. first i want to ask about the security complications you've done conventions before. how big of a challenge is it? >> enormous challenge, operationally you have to deal with the state and local officials and political concerns. the secret service is not just security, but plan a and b are not good enough, you need plan a through z. >> the protesters, it seems like every four years we talk about the protesters at the convention. by and large they are kind of keptoff site. not like they are holding p banners and protesting. i think we have a map -- maybe not. how much of a threat are the protesters and activists? >> protesting is the american

way, the first amendment right but violent protest is not. it can be very disruptive, i remember new york getting caught up in a protest. i was doing undercover work and got caught in a protest as well and nearly got arrested myself. i had one of these extendible batones in my hand -- >> i might have been right there with you. i got banged up too. >> peaceful protest is your american right and we hope you do it. >> one of the complaints you hear from journalists because we do like to complain from time to time of it's a mess, hard to get around. it takes forever to get into the convention site. as a secret service agent, how much do you care about complaints like that? >> you do because you don't want people to leave with a bad taste in your mouth. from the management on down, it's stress. security is a very pros miss cuous job. we would just be a local security company with the -- and we take that into consideration.

>> is there one big concern? >> i would say terrorism, at the top of the pyramid would be terrorism of course. >> you tell the press and people complaining, just suck it up in terms of rain. >> godforbid there's a mass kas you'llty event. >> you're here in a different capacity, you are the republican nominee for senate in the state of maryland? >> we've run a outsider campaign and we beat nine other folks. it's been really -- it's been a whirlwind for us. we had a lot of good media attention and we're here to get people to hear our story. >> is mitt romney helping your candidacy or hurting it? >> i think he is helping because i think people are looking for an alternative. i don't think there's anti-president obama sentiment in maryland, when he presents that this week, it will give us a platform to move forward as

well. >> are you running with him, side by side, do you think mitt romney will campaign for you in maryland? >> i don't think so. i think in maryland we're on our own. i'm okay with that. we've run an outsider campaign and shaken up what i call the d.c. nest. >> sarah palin stepped up for you. dan borgino. it's great to see you. if you want to know what it's really like beyond the secret service angle, maybe the journalistic angle, you can join the round table tomorrow with wolf blitzer tomorrow. get answers in real time and a live virtual chat, the cnn election roundtable starting at 12 noon eastern. you can be a part of it, cnn.com/roundtable. if you want to learn more about the convention right away, soledad o'brien joins us. >> tropical storm isaac is expected to become a hurricane in a day or so.

that means that the path is actually projected to hit the city of new orleans at a category 1, maybe a category 2 storm around wednesday, wednesday of course would be the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. we're monitoring all of this. we'll tell you how that city is preparing and how cities in alabama and mississippi are preparing. we'll talk to rob marciano at the 17th street canal in new orleans. we'll talk to richard knapp as release their updates. and ronald surface runs the police department in new orleans and he'll be our guest as well. the big question for those folks here at the republican convention kicking off today, excuse me, shortened schedule, ten minutes long. what's that delay going to mean? it's coming because of hurricane isaac, we'll talk to mayor buckhorn and newt gingrich and

joe klein will join us and the political implications of the this major weather event and political event coming together at the same time. all of that and much more and start at the top of the hour at 7:00 eastern time. we'll see you then. >> so much to talk about from preparedness to politics right now. both issues on mitt romney's mind and will he get a bounce from mrs. romney to marco rubio? what will help? will he get the bounce he needs from the republican national convention? we'll talk about likability and what he needs to do. stay with us, you're watching "early start" live from tampa. [ male announcer ] does your prescription medication give you the burden of constipation? turn to senokot-s tablets. senokot-s has a natural vegetable laxative ingredient plus the comfort of a stool softener for gentle, overnight relief of occasional constipation. go to senokot-s.com for savings.

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that is the city of tampa, the wind is blowing harder than it looks on that palm tree and raining harder than it looks in the picture. people are walking in completely soaked. the weather not particularly friendly here. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman live in tampa for the republan national convention. we're here at the cnn grill. >> i've got to tell you, john, when we look at the pictures, we understand why they called off the first day, right, those binds winds are a serious problem when the tents are up trying to keep those in place. all right. >> they certainly are. >> i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. welcome back to "early start." we're tracking the path of tropical storm isaac. it is strengthening as it moves through the gulf of mexico pack s sustained winds of 65 miles per hour. isaac is expected to make landfall tuesday or wednesday as a hurricane possibly a category

2 they are saying. wednesday is also the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. and isaac is following a very similar track. john? >> we're here in tampa at home base for the republican national convention where mitt romney will make his debut as the party's official nominee later this week. weather permitting, some of the party's brightest stars will be speaking from florida as well, marco rubio, ann romney will take the stage to talk about the former massachusetts governor and why he should be president of united states. that is the question everyone is asking and that's the sales pitch that the romney teach is making. to break down the latest numbers, we're joined by ron brownstein. the first thing i want to ask you right now. they put off the convention today, not doing other than gaveling in and out. >> that is a very difficult choice, certainly it's hard to imagine with all of the history of the republican pay with

katrina and president bush that they can simply go ahead with an acceptance speech on thursday night if at that time there is a very difficult hurricane in -- some some ways it is already here. we are in a split screen. the modern convention, the role is to provide the spotlight for the nominee. it will be divided all week. >> in a way he doesn't have the spotlight he wants and this is why he needs the spotlight. we have a new poll which talks about personal characteristics of candidates right now. hopefully i can show it to you. on the issues of who is most in touch with women, barack obama enjoys a very large lead. 60-31%. on the issue of who cares most about people, 53 to 39% for president obama and then in touch with the middle class, 53% to 39%. these are the numbers mitt romney wants to fix. >> that is the key task. you look at the abc "washington post" post, like the nbc wall street journal poll, this race is within reach for mitt romney

and the republicans largely because of economic disappoint with president obama but romney trails on the personal measures of connection and em pathty. he leads on the question of who can -- caring about people like me and the short version that pollsters think what people are saying, they think romney is more skilled at getting the economy going in a macro sense but people are dubious that he cares about and will deliver pros spert for them like them. that is job one this week. >> on the economy, mitt romney leads 50-46%. people prefer him over president obama on the deficit a 10-point lead and on taxes, barack obama has a 4-point lead. the economy lead for mitt romney isn't that big. >> no. look, this race like most presidential races involving and incumbent is first and foremost about the incumbent. but there is a choice element at the margin. what's happening as we talked

about before, you boil all of the numbers down, there is somewhere like 3 or 4 or 5% of the ee lek tore rat that is disappointed in president oba obama's performance but isn't convinced mitt romney would defend interests of people like them. the instinct is to go harder against president obama. i'm not sure that's his real task, to convince them that he sees them and cares about them. >> we'll hear about his biography this week and one of the things that is part is the massachusetts health care plan. he gave an answer that raised a lot of eyebrows this week. let's take a listen. >> with regards to women's health care, i'm the guy that was able to get health care for all of the women and men in my state. they are just talking about it at the federal level an we did it without cutting medicare or raising taxes. >> touting romny care.

he's past the primary and it makes sense in that way, but no, he is walking such a tight rope on this all year, claiming credit for it and trying to distinguish differences tw the president's plan. governors can't cut medicare. he funded it largely with federal dollars. i think it is -- he's kind of wavered on both sides. in the end, this is going to be first and foremost about the economy. >> ron brownstein. thank you for being here. we'll see you here all week. >> thank you, john. as tropical storm isaac barrels through the gulf. our ireporters have been tracking the storm as well. this is from miami. more where that came from coming up. why should saturday night have all the fun? get two times the points on dining in restaurants, with chase sapphire preferred.

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you're looking at live pictures from key west where the storm isaac hit overnight. it looks a little sunnier and brighter skies. it is 80 degrees. it will be 85 later and they'll see more rain and drizzling rain but the worst of tropical storm isaac is over for the florida keys now. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman, we're live in the cnn grill this morning just a few feet from the floor of the republican national convention in tampa. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. we're watching tropical storm isaac and getting the best pictures and video from you guys on front lines of the storm. check out these intense ireports from people who have already endured isaac. whipping winds and practically no visibility, take a look at

that. this is alleycat 62 who say these conditions lasted about 45 minutes. this is big pine key florida. and the rainfall was also intense int. lauderdale, says palm trees were pulled in the same direction as the worst of isaac moved through. somebody wanted to know if they were in the clear, the situation is better this morning. further north, delray beach, they say they have never been through a hurricane. they call tropical storm isaac scary and excitement. keep the pictures and videos coming. you can upload your own there as well. thanks for sending them in. that's it for us on "early start," john berman is in tampa. "starting point" with soledad

o'brien starts right now. welcome to a special edition of "starting point." we're coming to you live at the cnn grill at the republican national convention in tampa, florida. first hearing warnings is in effect, tropical storm isaac is heading for the northern gulf coast and expected to strengthen into a powerful hurricane before it makes landfall. eerily similarities to strike on hurricane katrina's anniversary. we'll look if the city of new orleans is prepared and how about other cities in the path in alabama and in mississippi? we'll take a look there. republicans are leaving open the possibility of bigger changes to mitt romney's now already shortened convention. we'll look at those changes. we have a packed show this morning. the former house speaker, newt gingrich will be our guest. also we'll be talking to ronald